(Cover photo by Wes Jackson from Flickr)

We know that the transition as students move through their education can be difficult for students (and their parents). Choosing where to go to apply to college/university, how to apply, and how to fund the higher education can be one of the more difficult aspects of moving through school. So, in this week's digest, we present 5 resources that may be helpful for students and their families while contemplating and planning higher education.

1) The Best Scholarship Search Platforms of 2018 by Reviews.com

Want to look for scholarships, but are unsure of where to start? This piece evaluates and discusses the pros and cons of a number of scholarship search platforms. They even break down their methodology!

2) Deciding where to go: How to pick the perfect college for you by Patrick O' Brien (@obrienmedia) and Susan Davis-Ali (@SDavisAli), USA Today College (@USATODAYcollege)

As the beginning of this article states, you can find tons of these articles in a search online. These two authors write a lot about careers and have talked to a number of people. They offer their take on picking the right college.

Remember, there probably is no perfect way to select your college, and there are a lot of factors to weigh. Ultimately, you need to make the decision that is right for you and will help you achieve the most success broadly (including for learning, career development, emotional growth, personal care and so much more).

3) Advice to Parents Whose Child will be the First in the Family to Go to College by FastWeb

Transitions to higher education can be really difficult for everyone. However, we know that students are starting at a number of different places in terms of familiarity with higher education and support from family and friends. This article gives some helpful advice.

One of us (Megan) has been working closely with the Preparatory Enrollment Program at Rhode Island College, which helps first generation college students with extra support on campus. One of the best pieces of advice, I think, is to find a mentor or some form of support when you're working on applying and once you get to school! We can all use a little extra support at times, and making connections can be extremely valuable!

4) 10 Tips for Writing the College Application Essay by  Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman, US News and World Report

There are TONS of articles online about how to write a college essay, so we picked one that one of us (Megan) likes in particular. I like this one because it is concise (also tip number one for your college essay) and might help you get the ball rolling with your essay.

As we always say with school work, you definitely want to avoid procrastinating with these. The more time you have to think about ideas, write, and then edit and obtain feedback, the better!

Note, some of the deadlines for the 2018/2019 school year, at least in the United States, have past or are quickly approaching. You can use this page to help keep track of deadlines. If you're a junior or earlier, use this page to get an idea of when those application deadlines will be, and make sure to start planning and working on applications early!

5) A Professor’s Pointers for Success in College: 21 Easy-to-Follow Tips by Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, Huff Post

So you got into college... now what? Start out strong! You should definitely start studying with effective strategies from the get go. But, while learning is a huge part of higher education, there's more to being successful in college. This article provides a number of tips from a professor's perspective. You want to start these things right away! Tip number one is don't be anonymous. This couldn't be more important to your success. You'll benefit from the help and support of your professors in more ways than you might realize.

Every Sunday, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:

Weekly Digest #96: Why Teachers Blog

Weekly Digest #97: Benefits and Pitfalls of Mindfulness Interventions in Schools

Weekly Digest #98: Science of Learning Initiatives

Weekly Digest #99: In Defense of Inquiry Learning

Weekly Digest #100: Teachers' Implementations Of Learning Strategies